It is well known in the art of woodland harvesting to use work heads having jaw-like, hydraulic grapple assemblies that are movably connected to the booms of mobile power machines to handle and lift logs during deforestation. Typically, a hydraulically powered processing unit is employed in a woodland harvesting operation to sever and/or strip trees. Once the trees have been cut and lie on the ground, a separate mobile power unit such as a truck-mounted rig equipped with openable and closeable tines or jaws of the hydraulic grapple assembly is utilized to grasp and load the logs onto a pile or into a truck. The hydraulic grapple assembly is normally effective in moving the logs from one location to another. The grapple assembly is also used to clear the ground of other debris such as rocks and boulders from a particular site. However, because of its spaced apart, jaw-like construction, the grapple assembly is generally inefficient in the pick-up and transfer of extant bulk material such as dirt, gravel, sand, or wood chips.
Ideally, it would be more effective to use a scoop or bucket arrangement to load the bulk material. Unfortunately, this requires a separate vehicle such as an excavator to carry the bucket arrangement. Since it is expensive to have a separate vehicle to load bulk material, it would be advantageous if one could quickly and securely attach a scoop or bucket arrangement to the existing grapple assembly. In this manner, the operator of the mobile power machine would be able to selectively use the work head to grab logs and other large objects with the grapple assembly or scoop up material with the scoop or bucket arrangement.
Despite several attempts of the prior art to adapt a bulk handling device to a work head of a material handling machine by using various socket and/or connector structure, it remains desirable to provide an easy and secure means of mounting a scoop or bucket attachment to an existing grapple assembly such as used in log loading.
It is one object of the present invention to enable an operator of a log grapple assembly to mount a bucket arrangement on a boom assembly without removing the grapple assembly.
It is also an object of the present invention to fix a bucket attachment on an existing log grapple assembly in a manner such that the attachment is prevented from moving rearwardly, forwardly and laterally with respect to the grapple assembly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a grapple bucket attachment that requires a minimum modification to the existing grapple structure.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a grapple bucket attachment which is secured and operated using the motion control of the existing grapple structure.
This invention advantageously provides a modification of a grapple assembly with a bucket attachment when it is desired to extend the capability of an application from handling large objects to excavating and picking up fine materials.
In one aspect of the invention, a bucket is attachable to a tined jaw of a grapple on the boom of a mobile machine. The bucket includes a pair of opposed, parallel side plates, each of the side plates having a linear front edge, a linear top edge and an arcuate rear edge having a recess formed therethough. Intermediate structure connects the side plates and includes an arcuate top wall running rearwardly and upwardly along a curved path spaced from the rear edge from a linear forward edge commencing beneath the front edge to a linear back edge. The top wall is constructed and arranged to extend over upper and lower portions of the jaw. A pair of connecting pins is provided, each of which is receivable in one of the side plate recesses and a through hole formed in an upper portion of the jaw. The side plates are generally coextensive with one another, and the top wall is configured to correspond to the shape of the jaw. The linear forward edge is provided with a cutting edge used to penetrate particulate matter. The intermediate structure enables centering of the jaw between the side plates.
In another aspect of the invention, an implement is attachable to a boom structure of a mobile machine. The implement includes a grapple assembly having a pair of fork side and clam side jaws pivotally mounted on parallel axes. Each jaw has a pair of parallel, spaced apart tines formed with curved upper and lower surfaces. A bucket attachment is removably secured on the jaws and includes a fork side bucket and clam side bucket. The fork side bucket has a pair of opposed end plates with arcuate rear edges. The end plates are interconnected by a fork side intermediate structure provided with an arcuate bottom wall and an arcuate top wall. Both the bottom wall and the top wall are integrally formed together along respective linear forward edges. The bottom wall runs rearwardly, downwardly and upwardly partially along the curvature of the rear edge and terminates in a linear back edge. The top wall runs rearwardly and upwardly in spaced relationship to the bottom wall and terminates in a linear back edge above the bottom wall back edge. The bottom wall and top wall form a cavity for encasing the lower half of the fork side tines. The clam side bucket also has a pair of opposed end plates with arcuate edges. The end plates are connected together by a clam side intermediate structure provided with an arcuate bottom wall, an arcuate top wall and a generally upright back wall. Each of the bottom wall, the top wall and the back wall is centrally relieved to receive clam side tines therebetween. The bottom wall has spaced apart, side sections extending inwardly from inside surfaces of its side plates. Each side section runs rearwardly, downwardly and upwardly along an arcuate path spaced above the rear edges from a linear forward edge to a linear back edge. The top wall has a central planar section running rearwardly and upwardly from a linear forward edge joined to linear forward edges of bottom wall side sections and terminates in a linear back edge. The back wall has spaced apart, flanking portions extending inwardly from inside surfaces of the side plates, and a bottom edge connecting the flanking portions. Each of the bottom wall, top wall and back wall defines inside edges for guiding outer sides of the clam side tines. A connector arrangement is provided for coupling each fork side and clam side bucket to a respective fork side and clam side tine. The fork side intermediate structure and the clam side intermediate structure cooperate to enable the respective buckets to close upon each other to hold particulate material therein.
The present invention also contemplates a grapple assembly having a pair of fork side jaws provided with a pair of fork side buckets, and a grapple assembly having a pair of clam side jaws provided with a pair of clam side buckets.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.